A New Fate
by FF Fanatic
Summary: Vincent and Tifa have been caught by some scientists. What do they want with them? A Ticent fic
1. Prologue: Caught

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any of it's characters etc. Pout 

Please be nice because this is my first ever fanfic. I hope you enjoy reading it.

**A New Fate**

Prologue  
  
Vincent pulled out his Death Penalty and shot a single bullet at the men chasing him and Tifa. He kept running with Tifa slightly behind him. Vincent had no idea why these men were after Tifa and him, but it obviously wasn't for anything good.

It was raining hard, making the concrete path that they were running along extremely slippy. A number of times Vincent almost slipped over because of it. Both he and Tifa were soaked to the skin and his long, ebony hair clung to his face.

Suddenly Tifa tripped and fell towards the ground. Vincent came to a sudden stop and turned back to look at her, his red cape flapping around his ankles.

"Tifa, are you alright?" he yelled back, but he didn't get to hear her reply as suddenly, a hand shot out of nowhere and hit the back of his neck.

Vincent fell forward, to join Tifa on the ground. His vision became blurry and everything seemed to be spinning. He raised his head slightly and saw a tall man wearing a brown trench coat, come to stand in front of him. Then his head fell back to the wet concrete below as all consciousness was ripped from him.

**AN** - Well that is the beginning of my fanfic. I know it's not long, but I promise that my next chapters will be quite a bit longer than this. Please review.


	2. Chapter 1: Trapped

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any of its characters etc.

Here is the next part of the story. I hope you like it and please be kind when reviewing it.

**Chapter 1: Trapped**

Vincent slowly awoke to find himself sitting on the floor and his wrists chained to a wall. Tifa was chained to the wall opposite him, also awake. He looked around the room and it was very clear that they were in a prison cell. There was a wooden door in the corner of the room with bars across a small open section of it. The only light in the room was that, which came through the bars.

"Tifa? Are you alright?" Vincent finally asked.

"Yes, but where are we?" she replied, looking around the room.

"I don't know."

Suddenly the door opened and four, muscular men entered the room. They all wore the same uniform; black trousers, white shirt, brown ankle boots and a black leather jacket. Two of the men carried syringes filled with a whitish liquid, in their hands. Two of the men walked over to Tifa and two walked over to Vincent. The men obscured Vincent's view of Tifa, now.

Vincent heard a startled gasped and was about to call out to Tifa when one of the two men near him grabbed hold of one of his arms and started to roll up the right-hand sleeve of his shirt. Vincent struggled to get free, knowing that it was useless as he was still restrained. Once his sleeve had been rolled up, the man grabbed a hold of his waist with one arm, to keep him from wiggling, and gripped his right arm to stop Vincent from pulling it away as the other man approached.

The second man bent down beside Vincent, holding up the syringe. Vincent's eyes remained riveted on the syringe and he froze. The second man gave Vincent a quick glance before piercing the flesh of his right arm with the needle and injecting all of it's contents into Vincent's body.

Vincent felt the strength in his body drain away. Slowly the two men undid his restraints and dragged him to his feet, supporting him slightly. Vincent looked over to the opposite side of the room and saw Tifa in the same position as he was. Together he and Tifa were dragged out of the cell and down a corridor to another room.

They entered a new room with a large machine in the middle. A group of people stood around the machine, all wearing lab coats. One of them, a man in his mid thirties turned around and slowly walked over to them.

"Ah, welcome Miss Lockhart, Mr. Valentine. I have orders from my boss that I have to carry out, so I hope you realise that what I am about to do in nothing personal, it is just necessary," the man said, "By the way, if you want to call me anything, my name is Dr. Evorne."

With that, Dr. Evorne turned around and started to walk back over to the machine. He clicked his fingers once and Vincent felt himself being dragged forward. He looked over his shoulder and saw Tifa being held where she was still standing. He turned to look back in front of him and found himself face to face with the machine.

The machine filled a good portion of the room. It went right up to the ceiling and was made of metal painted white. There was a door at the front of the machine with a small glass window in it and through the window Vincent could see a tiny room. Surrounding the machine were a number of control panels. A woman, in her twenties, opened the door and before Vincent had time to react he was thrust inside the machine. The door was slammed shut behind him and he heard it being locked. He was still too stunned to do anything, until the machine start to make whirring noises and the tiny room he was trapped in began to fill up with a green liquid.

As the liquid seeped in Vincent spun around to face the door. With all his strength he banged on the door with his metal claw and human hand. Through the window he could see Tifa trying desperately to pull free from her captors, but what caught his attention the most was the smirk on the scientist's face.

As the liquid continued to increase Vincent screamed desperately to be let out. Outside however Dr. Evorne and the other scientists couldn't hear him, as the room he was in was sound proof.

Suddenly bright lights started to flash within the room. Vincent brought his arms up to protect his eyes from the light. He could feel his body begin to change and he had no idea what was going to happen to him, but somehow he knew it wasn't going to be good.


	3. Chapter 2: Change

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any of its characters etc.

Here is the next instalment of my story. Please enjoy.

**Chapter 2: Change**

Tifa gazed on in horror. She had no idea what was happening to Vincent inside that machine, but knew it wasn't good. She tugged in vain against her captors, trying desperately to get free.

"Stop this! What are you doing to him?" Tifa screamed at Dr. Evorne.

"You'll see soon enough," he replied calmly.

Dr. Evorne turned to look at one of the control panels to the left of him.

"Ah, it should be done soon," he said as he tapped a few buttons on the control panel.

The whirring of the machine died down and the liquid inside drained away. Tifa held her breath as the door was unlocked and slowly opened. There were too many people around the machine, obscuring Tifa's field of view, so she couldn't see Vincent.

Dr. Evorne entered the small chamber Vincent had been locked in. He bent down and picked something up, but Tifa couldn't see what it was. Dr. Evorne then exited the chamber and turned to face her, a wide smirk adorning his lips.

"Well, Miss Lockhart, you wanted to know what I had done to Mr. Valentine, so here, take a look."

Dr. Evorne held up what he was holding, for Tifa to see. She let out a startled gasp. She couldn't believe her eyes. She was looking at a tiny black Labrador puppy. It's eyes were bright red and it's fur was wet from the liquid that had filled the chamber.

"Vincent?" she asked, the words barely escaping her mouth.

The dog looked up at her and let out a small bark, struggling to get out of Dr. Evorne's grip. Vincent knew exactly what had happened to him, but unfortunately for Vincent, Dr. Evorne had a very strong grip.

"Now Miss Lockhart, it is your turn," Dr. Evorne announced.

"Forget it!" Tifa screamed.

She quickly kicked one of the men that was holding her in the shin. The man let go off her arm, stumbling back from the force of her kick. She then spun on one leg bringing her other leg up to kick her other captor's side, knocking him of her.

Vincent watched as Tifa attacked the men holding her, waiting for his chance to get free. He sensed Dr. Evorne's grip on him relax and realised that he had become distracted with shouting orders for the other people in the room to restrain Tifa. Seeing his chance Vincent bit down on Dr. Evorne's wrist, hard.

Dr. Evorne cried out in pain and flung Vincent to the floor. Vincent hit the floor hard and rolled over a couple of times before coming to a stop. He instantly got to his feet and ran towards where Tifa was fighting. He grabbed one of the men's ankles and bit it, gripping it tightly between his teeth.

He heard a cry behind him and knew that Tifa had rendered one of the men unconscious. Soon Tifa appeared beside Vincent And before Vincent could react, she had scooped him up into her arms and had dashed from the room they were in.

**AN** - Will Vincent ever be human again or will he have to spend the rest of his life as a dog? Why did the scientists do that to him anyway? You'll have to keep reading to find out. I promise that I will have the next chapter up soon.


	4. Chapter 3: Escape

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Final Fantasy 7 or any of its characters etc.

Here is the next chapter. I hope you like it and I ask you to be kind when reviewing, as this is my first fanfic.

**Chapter 3: Escape**

Tifa ran as fast as her legs could carry her, clinging Vincent to her chest. She could hear footsteps from behind and knew that she was being pursued. She had no idea where the exit to the building, she and Vincent were in, was. All she could do was hope that she came across it soon.

She quickly darted down a corridor to the right and spotted some stairs, leading downwards, in front of her. She hurried down the stairs, occasionally stumbling. When she reached the bottom she changed course again and ran down a corridor to her left.

In front of her, with his back facing her, was a security guard. Without even slowing down, Tifa jumped forward and kicked the man in the back of the head, knocking him out. As soon as she landed she continued her run.

She took a few more turns and occasionally ran down stairways when she came to them. As she reached the bottom of the stairway, she was currently running down, she breathed a sigh of relief. In front of her was a set of huge double doors. She ran across the lobby of the building and pushed the doors open, exiting the building quickly.

Once outside she stopped to catch her breath and looked around. The building had been built inside a cavern and all around her was the stone of the cavern she and Vincent were currently in.

Suddenly she heard voices behind her. She immediately darted towards a small cove on the far side of the cavern. She slipped inside and held Vincent tightly to her as she heard people rushing past her hiding place. Once she was sure they had gone she exited the cove and stood up.

"Come on Vincent, we better try and find a way out of these caves. Who knows how far inside of these caves we are?" Tifa sighed as she set Vincent down on the floor.

She slowly left the cavern with Vincent padding alongside her. They walked through the maze of caverns and tunnels searching for a way out and occasionally having to back track when they came across a group of people who had been sent to catch them.

Vincent kept his eyes on the floor in front of him. He was more then a little unhappy about his transformation. What if he could never become human again? What if he was stuck like this forever? _Don't think that way_, Vincent told himself as he continued to follow Tifa.

Tifa knew that Vincent was upset, but right now there was nothing she could do for him. The most important thing at the moment was finding a way out of the caves alive.

After what seemed like hours of wondering through the pitch black tunnels, Tifa spotted a streak of light in front of them. She instantly broke into a run, Vincent bounding after her. She stopped as she came to an opening that led out onto a desolate plain; their exit.

They left the caves and looked around, breathing in the night time air. It was dark and it took awhile for Tifa to realise where they were, but she soon figured it out.

They had exited out of the base of the Nibelhiem mountains, near Rocket town. The laboratory that she and Vincent had been prisoners in was actually built inside of the Nibelhiem mountains.

The closest town to them was Rocket, so she and Vincent slowly started on their journey to that town. _Hopefully Cid can help us_, Tifa thought as she stared at the puppy beside her.

**AN** - Well they are now free, but will Vincent be stuck like as a dog forever? Please review and I will have the next chapter up soon.


	5. Chapter 4: Explanation

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any of its characters etc.

Here is the next part of the story. I hope you like it.

**Chapter 4: Explanation**

It was around eleven at night and Cid was getting ready to go to bed with his wife Shera. He was just climbing into bed when he heard the doorbell ring downstairs.

"Who the &$( would be calling round at this hour!" he yelled.

"I don't know dear, but we better answer the door," Shera replied calmly, used to Cid's temper.

With an annoyed sigh Cid got back up and trudged downstairs, in his boxers and a t-shirt. On reaching the front door he flung it open and stared outside. He was immediately taken by surprise at who was standing there.

"Tifa?"

"Cid, I'm really sorry to disturb you. I know its late, but please can Vincent and I stay here the night?" Tifa asked anxiously even though she knew Cid would willingly agree.

"Sure. Speaking of Vincent, where is he?" Cid asked glancing around outside, but only spotting a small puppy sitting at Tifa's feet. _Since when did Tifa have a dog?_

"It's a long story. I'll explain inside," Tifa announced as she and the black Labrador entered Cid's house.

Once inside they went into the kitchen. Cid gave Tifa a towel on her request and Tifa started the task of drying the still slightly wet puppy sitting on the kitchen floor, whilst Cid made them both a cup of tea. Once the tea had been made and Tifa had finished drying the puppy she and Cid sat at the kitchen table, whilst the dog lay down on one of the other chairs.

"O.k. Tifa, explain," Cid said leaning on the table and staring at Tifa intently.

"Well as you know I went to visit Vincent four days ago," Tifa began

Cid already knew this. Tifa had wanted to make sure that after AVALANCHE had split up, after Sephiroth had been defeated, that Vincent hadn't gone back into his coffin.

"Well Vincent was doing well and seemed to be getting on with his life and I decided I would stay with him for a few weeks. Everything was alright until last night. Vincent and I were sitting down, talking, when a group of people burst through the Shinra mansion doors. They all had guns and they told us to go with them. There were too many for me and Vincent to fight alone, so we decided the best chance was to get out of the mansion and to somewhere where we might have a better chance of beating them. Unfortunately they knocked us both out.," Tifa explained.

She stopped for a while, whilst Cid digested the information he had just received. After a couple of minutes of silence, Cid looked up at Tifa.

"So, what happened?" he asked.

"We both woke up in a prison cell," Tifa continued, "We were then taken into a lab room of some sorts by some men. In the centre of the room was a massive machine and a bunch of scientists. They put Vincent into this machine."

Cid gasped, horrified at the thought of his friend being used as an experiment again. _Hasn't he suffered enough in his life?_ he thought.

"What did they do to him?" he questioned nervously.

"I couldn't see what had happened to him for a while, but eventually one of the scientists, a Dr. Evorne I think he was called, turned off the machine. He took Vincent out and …," she stuttered, not sure of how to explain the next bit to Cid.

"And?" Cid prompted.

"I don't know how to explain this, so I think it is better if I show you," Tifa replied.

With that Tifa scooped up the black Labrador off the chair next to her and placed it on the table. The dog stretched then turned its gaze to Cid. Cid gasped as he saw its eyes. They were a beautiful, crimson colour.

"Vi…Vincent?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Afterwards we escaped and came here," Tifa replied as Vincent gave a short bark in reply.

"Oh &£$. Why would they do this?" Cid exclaimed staring at Vincent.

"I don't know," Tifa replied sadly.

"Hey Tifa, don't worry. We'll find a way to help him," Cid announced.

Tifa just nodded a reply, her eyes still focused on Vincent.

Afterwards Cid went back to bed and Tifa went up to the spare bedroom with Vincent. She got changed into a nightdress that Shera, who had been informed of the situation by Cid, had given her. Once she was ready, she walked over to where Vincent was curled up on the bottom of the bed, supposedly asleep. She reached and gently stroked his fur.

"Don't worry Vincent, I'll find a way to change you back somehow. I…" she began unsure of whether to go on, "I…I love you."

Tifa had always felt something for Vincent, but she had never known what it was. Everyone thought she loved Cloud, including herself, until recently. All of the recent experiences that had occurred had made her realise her true feelings for Vincent. She really did love him.

Tifa turned off the light and slowly crawled into bed.

"I love you, Vincent," she whispered as sleep over took her.

In the silent darkness, Vincent slowly raised his head to look at Tifa's sleeping form. _She loves me?  
_  
**AN** - Well there you have it. I have now added a love twist. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will soon have the next chapter up. Please review.


	6. Chapter 5: Meeting

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any of its characters etc.

Here is the next chapter. I hope you are enjoying the fic so far.

**Chapter 5: Meeting**

The next day Cid phoned the other members of AVALANCHE to tell them that they had another emergency.

"Look I'll explain when everyone gets here o.k.," Cid said in an annoyed voice to Cloud, who was the last person he needed to speak to, "I'll come and pick you up in the Highwind."

With that Cid placed the phone down with a sigh. He went into the lounge where Tifa sat on a couch watching T.V. Vincent was lying on the floor with a book in front of him struggling to turn the page with his paw.

"Tifa, I'm going to pick everyone up in the Highwind," Cid told her, his gaze on Vincent.

He tried desperately to stifle his laughter, but it was just so funny watching Vincent struggle with the pages of the book.

"If we can't change him back, Tifa, we could always enter him in a pet talent contest. I doubt there are many dogs who can read."

"Oh, you're evil Cid," Tifa replied reaching down with her hand and scratching Vincent behind his ear, causing Vincent to shake his head in annoyance.

Cid laughed then turned and left to pick everyone up. Tifa looked down at Vincent, who had gone back to reading the book in front of him. She had to admit that Vincent looked terribly cute as a puppy. She turned her attention back to the T.V. and sighed.

"Don't listen to Cid, Vincent. We'll change you back."

It had just gone half one when Cid arrived back. He entered the house followed by Yuffie, Red XIII, Cloud, Barret and Cait Sith. They entered the lounge and Yuffie immediately bounded over to Vincent, whilst everyone else found somewhere to sit.

"I didn't know you had a got a puppy, Cid. Oh, he is sooooo cute," Yuffie exclaimed rubbing Vincent's head, "And he's sooooo clever. Look he's actually reading a book."

Tifa and Cid couldn't help, but burst out laughing at Yuffie's comment, whilst Vincent shut the book with his nose.

"Yuffie, he's not mine," Cid said.

"Oh, so he's Tifa's then?" Yuffie asked, whilst picking Vincent up and resting him on her knees.

"No, he's not mine either," Tifa replied, smiling at Yuffie's confused look.

"Actually, he's why we called you here," Cid continued.

"What!" Barret snapped, "I thought you said it was an emergency."

"It is," Tifa sighed, looking down at Vincent, who was trying his best to get out of Yuffie's grasp, "Everyone can you see Vincent?"

"No," said Red looking around for their silent companion, "Where is he?"

"Your looking at him," Tifa replied.

"WHAT!" everyone yelled, staring at the puppy that was still squirming in Yuffie's arms.

"But how?" Cloud asked in disbelief.

Tifa explained about how she and Vincent had been captured, about Dr. Evorne, about Vincent being turned into a black Labrador and about how they had escaped and come here.

"We have to do something," Tifa said.

"Well, it seems like the most sensible course of action is to check out that lab," Red reasoned, "You said it was located inside the Nibelhiem mountains, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Tifa answered

"Then it's settled," Cloud announced, "First thing tomorrow we'll head out to the lab and check it out, but I think that Vincent should stay here."

Vincent finally got free of Yuffie's grasp and immediately started barking in protest.

"I think he wants to come too," Yuffie said, staring at Vincent, "He'll be alright seeing as we will all be going."

"Fine, he can come too," Cloud sighed.

Vincent immediately became silent again and lay down on the carpet resting his head on his paws, whilst everyone else chatted about what they had been doing since the defeat of Sephiroth.

**AN** - Well that's the end of chapter 5. Now all of AVALANCHE know what has happened to Vincent and are going to check out the lab where it happened. Is that a wise decision or not? You'll just have to read on to find out. Please review.


	7. Chapter 6: Hide and Seek

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Final Fantasy 7 or any of its characters etc.

I have finally managed to get the next chapter up. Please read and enjoy.

**Chapter 6: Hide and Seek**

For the rest of the day AVALANCHE just went about doing normal, everyday things. Well as normal as AVALANCHE could be.

Tifa spent most of the day chatting with Shera about what she had been up to lately and about how Shera was coping with Cid as her husband. They sat at the kitchen table drinking mugs of tea and laughing.

Cid was out back tuning up the Tiny Bronco and talking with Barret and Cloud about daily life. Barret was bragging about how well Marlene was doing at school and Cloud was occasionally chatting about how well his weapon's store was doing.

Red XIII was out front lying on the grass outsides Cid's front door. He was sunbathing and watching the people walk past lazily.

Cait Sith had wondered into town to see if he could find anyone who was gullible enough to let him tell them their fortune. He wasn't the best at telling fortunes and he had gotten his fortunes wrong on more then one occasion.

Yuffie bounded through the rooms of Cid's house looking under beds, chairs, tables, in cupboards, anywhere that would make a good hiding place. In her right hand she carried a red lead and collar which she had just gone and bought from the local pet shop. Yuffie had never had a pet and the thought of being able to play with Vincent and treat him like her own pet excited her, even though Vincent was really a human.

Vincent however had other ideas and as soon as he had seen Yuffie with a lead and collar, he had gone off to hide. He was currently in the spare bedroom, hiding under a chest of drawers with his body pushed as far back against the wall as possible.

"Vincent, I know your in here!" Yuffie called as she entered the room.

Vincent flinched slightly, trying to remain as quiet as possible so that Yuffie wouldn't find him. Slowly Yuffie checked under the bed and in all the cupboards. Finally she strolled up to chest of drawers that Vincent was hiding under.

"Now I wonder," Yuffie said to herself as she approached the chest of drawers.

She quickly bent down and looked under it.

"Found you!" she laughed out as she made a grab for Vincent.

Unfortunately for her Vincent was a lot quicker and darted out of her reach and then dashed out of the room. Yuffie followed him down the stairs and into the kitchen. At the time, Vincent hadn't been thinking about where he was going, only about the fact that he had to get away from Yuffie. He soon found himself at a dead end facing the cooker in the kitchen with Shera and Tifa staring at him with confused looks. _Damn_, he thought.

Yuffie glided into the room a minute later, slowly approaching Vincent.

"I have you now," she said as she suddenly reached out and grabbed him, lifting his wriggling form up off the floor.

She strolled over to the table and sat down in a chair placing Vincent onto the table and holding him still. She then proceeded to get the collar, with the lead attached, around his neck, which proved to be a harder task than she had thought.

"Yuffie, what are you doing?" Tifa asked, as Yuffie finally got the collar around Vincent's neck.

"I'm going to take Vincent for a walk," Yuffie replied, picking Vincent up off the table and putting him back on the floor, "I think I'll take him to the park that was built where that old rocket once was."

Before Tifa or Shera could say anything else Yuffie left the kitchen with Vincent trailing along behind her.

"Poor Vincent," Tifa sighed and then proceeded with the conversation she and Shera had been having earlier.

**AN** - Well did you like it. I'll have the next chapter up soon, so if you want to continue reading my story you can. Please review.


	8. Chapter 7: Chase

**Disclaimer**: As I have said before I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any of its characters etc.

I have gotten the next chapter up! Hooray! I hope you like it.

**Chapter 7: Chase**

Yuffie and Vincent finally arrived at the park. It was extremely large with quite a number of large oak trees. There was a children's play area as well and also quite a few people taking their dogs for a walk.

"You run away Vincent and you'll regret it," Yuffie said to the puppy trailing behind her.

She then bent down and unclasped the lead from the collar that was around Vincent's neck. At first Vincent was very tempted to run off, knowing that he could easily out run Yuffie, but he knew that eventually he would end up meeting back up with her and then he would be in big trouble. If only he wasn't a dog.

Yuffie found a long stick lying on the floor and an evil smile spread across her face. She picked the stick up and threw it as far as she could. She then turned to look at Vincent, who was staring at her with a death glare. _Don't even think about it_, he thought.

"Fetch!" Yuffie shouted at him.

Vincent continued to sit at her feet, glaring up at her.

"Go on Vincent, fetch!" Yuffie yelled again.

Vincent still refused to move.

"Look Vincent," Yuffie said, bending down and stroking Vincent's back, "Those people that are after you might be here. After all this town is nearest to their hideout. They are probably looking for you and if you don't start acting like a dog, you will stand out and then they'll find you. Now fetch!"

Vincent finally gave in and bounded after the stick. _I can't believe I'm doing this. Its so demeaning_, Vincent thought as he picked the stick up in his mouth and ran back to Yuffie.

"Good boy," Yuffie said taking the stick from him and ruffling Vincent's fur.

Vincent growled low in his throat and Yuffie let out a short laugh. She then threw the stick again and Vincent let out another growl as he stalked off to retrieve it. The stick had landed near a bush and as Vincent picked it up he heard voices on the other side of the bush.

"He has to be in this town somewhere," one voice said.

"Yeah, but there are like at least twenty people in this town with dogs," another voice replied.

Vincent peered through the bush to see two men and a woman, all in casual clothes, talking. One of the men was carrying a blue sports bag.

"Well he still won't be that hard to find. I mean how many black Labradors can there be in this town that have red eyes," the woman intervened.

"You got a good point. Let's keep looking," the second man said.

Vincent was startled by what he had just heard. _They're here_, he thought. With that he darted back to Yuffie and dropped the stick at her feet. He then proceeded in pushing the backs of her legs, with his head, to try and get her to move.

"Vincent, what has gotten into you?" Yuffie asked, turning around to look at him.

Suddenly two men and a woman appeared in front of her.

"What a cute dog," the woman exclaimed, bending down to fuss Vincent.

"Is he yours?" one of the men asked taking Yuffie's arm and turning her around so that her back was facing Vincent.

He quickly looked over his shoulder and nodded to his two comrades, then he turned back to look at Yuffie and continued to talk to her. The second man bent down next to the woman and placed the blue sports bag he had been carrying on the floor.

Vincent knew that these people wanted him, but he wasn't about to just run away and leave Yuffie. He was about to let out a bark, to get Yuffie's attention, when the woman picked him up and bundled him into the sports bag. She was about to do the zip up when Vincent bit her finger. The woman screamed and fell to the floor, clutching her hand to her chest.

Yuffie heard the scream and spun round just in time to see Vincent leap out of the bag. It didn't take long for Yuffie to realize that the three people in front of her were after Vincent. She kicked the guy, who had been talking to her, in the shin, then darted as fast as she could away from them with Vincent close behind.

They ran across the grass of the park darting in between trees. They could here the two men and the woman chasing after them.

"Split up," Yuffie quickly said to Vincent.

He gave a kick nod before running left whilst Yuffie ran right. Vincent headed for the children's play area. The two men had chosen to chase him and the woman had gone after Yuffie.

Vincent reached the play area and decided to give the men who were following him a work-out. He quickly scrambled up the steps of the slide and slid down it. Just as he had thought his would be kidnappers were pretty dumb and instead of going round the slide they followed him up it.

Vincent then ran towards an empty swing and leapt over it still followed by the two men. They climbed over the swing, but one of them got himself caught and ended up falling to the ground with a loud thud. _One down, one more to go_, Vincent thought.

Children squealed with delight as they watched this black puppy climbing over the equipment in the play area as if he were human, with a man chasing him. Eventually Vincent decided to change his plan and suddenly darted away from the play area and towards the park gates. He could still hear his pursuers and knew that the second man had caught back up with the first.

Upon nearing the gates, Vincent caught sight of Yuffie, who was also running towards them still being pursued by the woman. They met up with each other and together darted through the gates and headed, as quickly as possible, back to Cid's house.

They burst through the front door and raced into the lounge, where they found Tifa, Red XIII and Cloud watching TV.

"They're here!" Yuffie yelled and everyone present turned to stare at her.

**AN** - OK, I'm being cruel to Vincent now. I mean I made him chase a stick. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll have the next one up soon. Please review.


	9. Chapter 8: Moment of Truth

**Disclaimer**: I don't Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters etc. ( wish I did though).

Yeah, I've gotten the next chapter up. Enjoy this next chapter.

**Chapter 8: Moment of Truth  
**  
"What do you mean "they're here"?" Tifa inquired.

"They're here," Yuffie repeated, "Me and Vincent saw them in the park. They know he is here. They chased us, but we escaped, of course."

"How many are there?" Tifa asked.

"Three. Two men and a woman," Yuffie replied.

"Then I don't think there is anything to worry about yet. They won't attack while the whole of AVALANCHE are here. Just don't leave the house now," Red XIII said.

Yuffie nodded and sat down on one of the chairs. Vincent bounded over to the sofa, where Tifa was sitting and leapt up on to it, next to her. He lay down and rested his head on her lap feeling quite content. Tifa let a small smile spread across her face and gently stroked Vincent's back.

Just then the rest of AVALANCHE and Shera entered the room. They all sat down and looked over at Tifa, who was still stroking Vincent.

"What?" Tifa asked, wondering why everyone was staring at her.

"O.k. what's going on?" Cid questioned.

"What do you mean?" Tifa inquired.

"You and Vincent. What is going on between you two?" Cid replied.

Tifa looked down at Vincent, who had looked up upon hearing his name, and blushed. _Should I tell them that I love him? I mean I don't even know if Vincent returns my feelings_, Tifa thought.

Eventually Tifa decided to find out if Vincent loved her too, before telling her friends the truth.

"Oh I… I'm just going to make a cup of tea," Tifa quickly said, before jumping up off the sofa, picking up Vincent and darting out of the lounge and into the kitchen.

The rest of AVALANCHE just stared at the door, Tifa had exited through, with open mouths.

"What just happened?" asked Red XIII.

"I have absolutely no idea," Cloud answered, still staring at the door.

Back in the kitchen, however, Tifa had placed Vincent on the table and put the kettle on. Vincent stared at her with a confused look, wondering what was going on, but Tifa didn't say anything.

Once the kettle was boiling, Tifa turned to face Vincent and with a deep sigh she spoke.

"Vincent, I'm going to ask you a very serious question and I want you to answer truthfully," Tifa said nervously.

Vincent nodded his head. He had never had trouble with telling the truth, but he still wondered how he was supposed to reply seeing as all he could do was bark. Tifa had already thought about this though.

"Bark once for no and twice for yes," Tifa said, twiddling her thumbs nervously, "O.k. here goes. Vincent, I love you more than anything. I want to know, do you love me too?"

At first silence, then a single bark resounded through the air. Tifa felt her heart plummet. She turned to face away from Vincent feeling tears well up in her eyes, when suddenly another bark broke the silence.

Tifa looked over her shoulder at Vincent not believing if the second bark had been real or not. Vincent was sitting on the table, wagging his tail.

"Bark, bark."

Tifa felt her heart soar.

"Is that a yes?" Tifa asked, her words choked slightly.

Vincent nodded his head and Tifa squealed in delight. She scooped Vincent up into her arms and held him tightly to her. She kissed the top of his head and let out a small laugh when Vincent licked her cheek in response.

"I love you, Vincent."

**AN** - Yes, Vincent returns Tifa's feelings, but how will the rest of AVALANCHE take this news, especially Cloud? I'll have the next chapter up soon, so stay tuned for the next exciting instalment of "A New Fate" lol. Sorry, but I couldn't resist saying that. Please review.


	10. Chapter 9: Confession and Teams

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters etc.

Next chapter is up! I hope you're enjoying this fanfic. This story is going to be exceedingly long, so it will take a while for me to complete it, but I will try to get new chapters up quickly.

**Chapter 9: Confession and Teams**

Everybody, who was sitting in the lounge, looked up as they saw Tifa re- enter, carrying a mug of tea, with Vincent strolling along by her side. Tifa sat back down on the sofa and Vincent hopped back up onto it and lay back down with his head resting on Tifa's lap again. After a short period of nothing but silence, Red XIII spoke up.

"What was that all about, Tifa?" he questioned.

"Well I have something I have to tell you all, but I had to check something before I could tell you," Tifa answered, looking down at Vincent, who was watching everyone with a lazy expression.

"Well, what was it?" Cloud asked.

"Oh, right," Tifa said, feeling a little embarrassed that she hadn't told them her news yet, "Well, you may find this a little hard to believe, but I'm in love with Vincent and he returns my feelings. In other words we are going out."

This news caused everyone to be shocked into silence. Suddenly Cloud stood up, his face showing his anger.

"I can't believe this!" he yelled.

"Cloud?" Tifa said, wondering why he was so angry.

"I can't believe you're in love with him!" Cloud spat angrily, "I just can't believe you!"

Cloud stormed out of the room and everyone stared after him in shock. After a short while Cait Sith broke the silence.

"I think he's jealous. Cloud's also been in love with you, Tifa. I think he's annoyed that you chose Vincent over him," Cait Sith said.

"Well, I'm sorry I hurt his feelings, but he will just have to learn to deal with it. I love Vincent, not him," Tifa replied, turning her attention away from the door and back to Vincent, who was looking very uncomfortable.

"I think we should let him be alone for a while," Barrett suggested, "Let's decide what we are going to do tomorrow."

"Well, we've already decided that we are going to look around that lab facility where Tifa and Vincent were being held prisoner," Red XIII reminded everyone, "Tifa how large is that facility."

"It's massive. I'm actually surprised that me and Vincent found the exit," she replied.

"Well, then the best course of action will be to split up into teams and search the lab that way," Cait Sith said.

"O.k. then let's go around the lab in pairs. We should be able to cover a lot of ground that way," Yuffie suggested.

"O.k. but who is going to go with who?" Red XIII asked.

"Let's see. How about myself and Yuffie?" Barrett said, "Then Vincent can go with Cloud. It might give them time to sort things out."

"How can they sort things out when Vincent can't speak?" Cait Sith asked.

_That's what I was thinking_, Vincent thought.

"Well, Cloud will hopefully realize that Vincent is his friend, not a rival and that he should be happy for him and Tifa," Barrett replied, slightly annoyed that Cait Sith was questioning him.

"Who will the rest of us go with?" Tifa inquired, a little disappointed that she wouldn't be with Vincent.

"Tifa, you go with Cait Sith and Cid, you go with Red XIII," Barrett answered.

Everyone seemed happy with Barrett's decision. Shera eventually left the room to start making dinner for everyone and Tifa left to help her. Cid left to see if he could find Cloud and Barrett, Cait Sith and Red XIII just lapsed into silence.

Yuffie, realizing that everyone was done talking, moved to sit next to the sofa and started to fuss Vincent. _Tomorrow is going to be a long day_, she thought.

**AN **- Oh dear, Cloud doesn't seem to happy for Vincent and Tifa. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be up soon, so keep reading. Please review.


	11. Chapter 10: Attack

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

I'm sorry if you were waiting for this chapter for a long time, but I have been stuck doing homework lately. Anyway here is the next chapter, so enjoy.

**Chapter 10: Attack**

Last night everyone had gone to bed early. Now every member of AVALANCHE was awake and getting prepared for today's events, which mainly involved searching the lab under the Nibelhiem mountains.

Cloud had been avoiding Tifa and Vincent, and everyone could sense his anger.

"Vincent, if I were you I would be worried," Cid told his friend as he placed some rope into a rucksack.

_I don't think I have anything to worry about. Cloud may be angry with me, but he's still my friend. He wouldn't try and attack me_, Vincent thought, as he sat watching everyone rushing about, wishing that he could be of some help.

Once everyone was ready, they gathered together outside Cid's house.

"Ready?" Tifa asked.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Cait Sith replied.

They started the tiresome journey from Cid's house to the lab, Tifa and Vincent leading the way. Cloud kept his gaze fixed on them, his eyes narrowed. Tifa wished he would stop it as it was making her very nervous and even though she knew Cloud was their friend, she still felt worried for Vincent. Vincent, however, seemed completely unaffected by Cloud's gaze.

They had made it halfway to the lab and hadn't yet run into any trouble. Unfortunately, that couldn't last forever. Suddenly five men and four vicious looking dogs appeared in front of AVALANCHE. The men were obviously from the organisation that was working in the lab facility because of the uniform they were wearing.

Each of the men pulled out a gun and aimed it at AVALANCHE.

"Looks like they want a fight," Yuffie said.

"Then let's not keep them waiting," Cloud announced, as he drew his sword.

Cloud charged at the man nearest to him, dodging the bullets that were being fired. He brought his sword up to slash down at the man, but unfortunately the man had anticipated his move and brought his gun up to stop the blade from hitting him.

Everyone watched as Cloud continued to fight the brown-haired man in front of them.

"Hang on a minute. Why are we just standing here? Let's fight!" Tifa exclaimed and with that the rest of AVALANCHE flung themselves into the battle.

Cid, Tifa, Cait Sith and Red XIII fought the men alongside Cloud, whilst Barrett, Yuffie and Vincent attacked the four dogs.

Vincent flung himself at the massive Doberman in front of him and bit it's neck as hard as possible. The Doberman lashed at Vincent in response knocking him onto his back. Together the two dogs rolled across the grass, snapping at each others necks and legs. Suddenly Vincent saw an opening to attack; the Doberman may have been bigger than him, but he was smarter and knew exactly when and where to attack. Vincent suddenly bit the Doberman's neck as hard as possible, braking the skin and drawing blood. The Doberman pulled back, off of Vincent, in pain. Vincent took this chance to finish the dog off, ripping at it's flesh. The Doberman slumped to the floor lifeless and dead.

Barrett easily finished of his dog with a few bullets, whilst Yuffie killed hers using her trusty Conformer. They then took the last dog out together.

Meanwhile Tifa, Cid, Cait Sith, Cloud and Red XIII continued to attack the men.

Tifa had knocked the gun out of the hands of her opponent. She continued to punch him with her fists until she saw a chance to give him a deathblow. She pivoted on her right foot and brought her left leg up to kick the man's neck, snapping it. The man slumped to floor, dead.

Cid lashed out with his spear and the blue eyed man in front of him could only defend. Cid knew that eventually the man would make a mistake and this battle would be over. Just then the man brought his gun up to try and shoot Cid, leaving himself wide open for an attack.

"Mistake," Cid announced before he plunged his spear through the man's chest killing him instantly.

Cait Sith, Cloud and Red XIII all finished off their opponents at roughly the same time. Every member of AVALANCHE just stood there staring at the dead men and dogs at their feet. Eventually Yuffie spoke up.

"Well, shall we go?" she asked.

Everyone nodded and they continued on their journey towards the lab.

**AN **- I hope you liked this chapter. I'm not very good at battle scenes. Please keep reading and reviewing my story and I assure you that the next chapter will be up soon.


	12. Chapter 11: Locked In

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.  
  
Next chapter up! Hope you like it. I am soooooo sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. I have had loads of homework to do. I'll try and get the next chapter up quicker though. Please read and review.  
  
Chapter 11:Locked In  
  
AVALANCHE stared at the mountain in front of them. Mount Nibel. The lab was supposed to be inside there. Well, it was now or never. If they wanted to find out what this new organisation, that had turned Vincent into a dog, was up to then they had no choice but to search the lab.  
  
"Let's go," Cloud ordered.  
  
Together AVALANCHE entered the tunnels that led through Mount Nibel to the lab facility inside. Each member of AVALANCHE paired up with the person they would be searching the lab with. They walked calmly through the dark tunnels, keeping a look out for any possible attackers. Tifa and Vincent led the way because they were the only ones who knew exactly where the lab was.  
  
After what seemed like endless walking they finally entered the large cavern where the lab was built. The lab was made of mainly metal. At the very front was a pair of huge doors and coming out of the sides of the building were massive pipes that disappeared into the stone floor  
  
"Wow, it's huge," Cait Sith said in awe.  
  
"Even with us searching in pairs it will still take a long time to find what we want," Barrett announced.  
  
"Well, we might as well get going," Cid murmured as he strolled towards the lab dropping his used cigarette on the floor.  
  
"Let's go," Cloud instructed.  
  
They entered the lab and each team of two went in a different direction, in search of something that could tell them what was going on.  
  
Red XIII and Cid carefully strolled down one of the many long corridors within the building. They kept a close lookout for anything that looked suspicious or dangerous. Eventually they came across a door to the left of them that had "authorised personal only" written on the front.  
  
"Well, this seems suspicious," Cid said as he lit a new cigarette.  
  
They checked that no one was coming, then they opened the door and entered the room.  
  
The room was filled with large boxes and huge machines. They were scattered all over the place and one lone light bulb lit up the room. Running along the floor were a number of small holes. I wonder what those are for, Red XIII thought as he stared at the holes.  
  
Red XIII and Cid walked in to the centre of the room and looked around. Perhaps there was something of use in one of these boxes.  
  
"Cid lets split up and search this room. There might be something of use in one of these boxes," Red XIII said as he walked over to the first box.  
  
Cid nodded, then opened the box nearest to him and began to rummage through it. Suddenly a hissing noise caught his attention. He looked over at Red XIII to see if he had heard it too. He had. Red XIII was sitting with his ears pricked up, listening to the sound and looking around to see where it was coming from.  
  
Suddenly some kind of gas started to enter the room through the holes that were on the floor. The gas swirled up into the air and caused Cid to start coughing.  
  
"Cid! We have to find a way out of here and fast. This gas will probably knock us out in a few minutes and if we get knocked out we will almost certainly be caught!" Red XIII barked, immediately running towards the door.  
  
He attempted to open it but it was locked. How did it become locked? He thought as he searched for another exit. Cid soon joined him in the search. They needed a way out and fast.  
  
AN - Well, there you have it. Cid and Red XIII are locked in a room that is filling up with knockout gas. The next chapter will be up as soon as possible, so keep reading. Please read and review. 


	13. Chapter 12: Information

Disclaimer: Like I have said before, I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any of its characters.  
  
He is the next chapter. I am really sorry for the long wait. I have had a lot of schoolwork, but I should have more time now to write new chapters to my stories.  
  
Chapter 12: Information  
  
Barrett and Yuffie had been searching the second floor of the lab, but so far they had found nothing of use. They quietly walked down one of the corridors, neither of them uttering a word. Suddenly a door caught Yuffie's eye. It was different from the other ones they had seen on this floor. Most of the doors on this floor were just plain white, with notices on the front of a few of them, but this door was dark blue.  
  
Yuffie stopped Barrett with her hand, then she walked towards the door. She tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. Yuffie, then noticed that the lock on the door was also different from the other doors on this floor. The locks on the other doors were normal key locks, but this door looked as though you need a special security card to unlock it.  
  
"They have to have something very important hidden in here," Yuffie stated, turning around so that she was facing Barrett.  
  
Barrett just nodded in agreement, then looked up and down the corridor, trying to figure out what they should do next.  
  
"I guess the only way to gain access is to have a security card and I doubt the people here just leave them lying around," Barrett said at last.  
  
"Then we will just have to find someone who has a security card and take it from them," Yuffie deadpanned.  
  
Yuffie then hurried down the corridor on her search for a security card. Barrett sighed and ran after her. It didn't take them long to find someone, though.  
  
Yuffie and Barrett had just turned down a corridor to their left, when they found themselves face to face with three security guards. They had been talking to one another, but upon seeing Barrett and Yuffie they drew their weapons.  
  
The first of the guards was a woman with shoulder length, brown hair. She wore a blue cap and black gloves. Her eyes were a dark blue and she wore a blue uniform with brown, ankle length boots. The weapon she was using was a crossbow.  
  
The second guard was a man in his mid-twenties. He had brown hair like the woman and green eyes. He too wore the blue uniform and brown boots, but instead of a cap he wore a blue bandanna around his head. The weapon he was using was a sword.  
  
The last guard was another man. He was around twenty and had short, blonde hair. His eyes were an icy blue and he wore the same uniform and boots as the other two guards. He had a small silver stud in his left ear and he didn't have anything covering his head. His weapon of choice was a long metal rod.  
  
Yuffie pulled out her Conformer and advanced slowly towards the group. Barrett followed with his gun arm raised, ready to shoot at the guards. There was a moment where the two groups just stared at one another and then suddenly Yuffie threw her Conformer at man with the sword. He dodged it and ran towards her with his sword raised. Yuffie caught her Conformer as it came back to her, then leapt over the man holding the sword and landed behind him.  
  
Meanwhile Barrett was taking on the woman and the other man. The woman was staying far back with her crossbow raised. The man however was trying to get as near to Barrett as possible. Suddenly an arrow whizzed passed Barrett's right ear, narrowly missing him. Barrett quickly looked over at the woman, who was now reloading her crossbow. He was about to shoot her when the man attacked. The metal rod he was using hit Barrett hard on his left shoulder, causing him to stumble forwards a few steps. He soon regained his steps and turned towards the man. This is going to be a hard battle, he thought staying at the man and then at the woman.  
  
Yuffie had the advantage in her battle. She could attack the man at a safe distance, but the man had to get close to her to attack. Every time he got even slightly close to her, Yuffie would throw her Conformer at him forcing him to retreat in order to dodge her deadly weapon. Suddenly Yuffie saw the perfect chance to strike the man down. He had left his left side vulnerable, so Yuffie attacked him with her Conformer.  
  
It slashed across his left side and he fell to the floor in pain, trying desperately to stop the flow of blood with his hand. Yuffie, seeing her chance to finish him off, cast a quick fire 3 spell on him and he fell completely onto the floor, dead.  
  
Yuffie glanced over her shoulder to see how Barrett was doing in his battle. Unlike Yuffie Barrett was having an extremely hard time trying to attack. His opponents were keeping him on the defensive, never giving him the chance to attack. They didn't seem to be paying any attention to Yuffie, which for them was a grave mistake.  
  
In an instant Yuffie had flung her Conformer at the woman. It hit the back of her neck. The woman gave a short, sharp scream before she fell to the ground lifeless.  
  
The man turned to look at Yuffie, which was a big mistake. Barrett gave Yuffie a quick smile as a way of thanking her for killing the woman, then he aimed his gun arm at the man's turned back and fired. He hit the man twice; once between his shoulder blades and a second time in the back of the man's head. The man had no time to scream. He was dead instantly. He fell to the ground, his eyes wide open and a small amount of blood dripping out of his mouth.  
  
"That was a close call," Barrett remarked, as he strolled over to Yuffie.  
  
Yuffie nodded in response.  
  
"Let's check them to see if any of them were carrying a security card," Yuffie suggested, hurrying over to the woman and searching her pockets.  
  
Both she and Barrett searched and at last they came upon a security card in the trouser pocket of the swordsman. Yuffie pulled it out and stood, dusting herself off as she did so.  
  
"Let's see if it works," she said and with that they hurried back to the dark blue door.  
  
They arrived in front of it and Yuffie slid the security card through the slot on the door's lock. She heard the satisfying sound of a click and with that she pushed the door open. Together Yuffie and Barrett entered the room.  
  
It was dark and they spent the first few minutes searching for a light switch. Eventually Barrett found one and the lights flickered on. As the lights came on Yuffie let out a gasp. The room was filled with strange looking machines, filing cabinets, bottles on shelves containing who knows what and boxes filled with syringes and other medical equipment, as well as a mop and bucket being placed in the far right hand corner.  
  
"This is it?" Barrett asked staring at the objects in front of him, "It just looks like a storage cupboard."  
  
"Well there has to be something of importance in here otherwise it wouldn't have been locked now, would it?" Yuffie snapped at him.  
  
Before Barrett could reply Yuffie strolled over to one of the filing cabinets and began searching through it. Barrett just stood there, staying at her. Eventually Yuffie got extremely annoyed at the fact that she was doing all the work.  
  
"Well help!" she yelled at him.  
  
Barrett shook his head in defeat and wondered over to a box and began looking through it. Suddenly he was hit in the back of the head by something. He turned around and saw a folder lying on the floor beside him. He picked it up and glanced over at Yuffie. He saw her tossing the folders that proved useless across the room, hence the reason he had been hit. He shook his head again and went back to searching the box.  
  
After about half an hour's worth of searching Yuffie suddenly stood up in triumph. She held a folder above her head.  
  
"I think I've found something," she exclaimed and Barrett hurried over to her.  
  
One the front of the folder was written THE MORPHIC PROJECT. Barrett took the folder from Yuffie and quickly flicked through the pieces of paper inside . Suddenly something got his attention. It was a small photograph of Vincent. Below it was written:  
  
"Vincent Valentine has been chosen to be the guinea pig for this experiment as we believe he is strong enough to survive the change his body will go through. The fact that he survived Professor Hojo's experiments 31 years ago has lead us to believe this."  
  
"Damn!" Barrett exclaimed, "Those scientists have been planning this for sometime now."  
  
He placed the photo back in the folder and closed it.  
  
"Come on Yuffie," He said, "We'll check the rest of this information back at Cid's place."  
  
Yuffie nodded in agreement and quickly they left the room.  
  
AN - Well what do you think. Please review this story. Anyway there will be more chapters posted up soon. Please read my other fanfic as well. Now review. 


	14. Chapter 13: Freedom

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any of it's characters etc.  
  
I am sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter up, but I have been on holiday. Anyway he is the next chapter of my story "A New Fate".  
  
Chapter 13: Freedom  
  
Red XIII and Cid were already beginning to feel sleepy from the sleeping gas that now filled the entire chamber they were locked in. Red XIII crouched low to the ground whilst Cid held a handkerchief over his mouth and nose, trying desperately not to breath in the horrid gas.  
  
"Cid," Red XIII gasped, "We have to find a way out of here and now."  
  
Cid only nodded in reply then started to crawl along the floor, looking for a way out.  
  
Together they shifted boxes out of the way and tried to find loose bricks in the walls that could be pushed out, but they found nothing that could help them. Suddenly Cid collapsed onto the floor, his eyes beginning to close slowly.  
  
"Cid!" Red XIII cried desperately, nudging his left cheek gently, "Cid, stay awake!"  
  
Cid glanced at Red XIII with weary eyes.  
  
"I'm so tired Red. I have to sleep," Cid replied.  
  
"I know your tired, but we must stay awake," Red XIII pleaded.  
  
Cid slowly nodded and with the help of Red XIII he got to his hands and knees. He knelt there for awhile, trying to keep his eyes open, then slowly began to help Red XIII look for an escape route out of the sleeping gas filled chamber.  
  
Suddenly Red XIII let out a cry of joy. Cid crawled over to his side, quickly, to see what the red lion like beast had found. In front of them, fixed to the bottom of the wall was a rather small metal tile that was coming slightly away from the wall leaving a small crack. Peering through the crack Cid could see that that there was a hole behind the tile, big enough for Red XIII to get through and for himself if he crawled.  
  
Using his spear, Cid pried the metal tile away from the wall to reveal the hole, then slowly he and Red XIII entered it and began to crawl as quickly as possible along the dark tunnel. The tunnel was quite cramped and it too was beginning to fill with sleeping gas that was leaking out of the chamber they had been in. After several minutes of crawling through the tunnel and trying to keep their eyes open at the same time, Cid and Red XIII came across another metal tile. With great difficulty because of the size of the tunnel, Cid pried the tile away from the wall using his spear.  
  
They both tumbled out of the tunnel and into a wide open corridor. After taking a moment to catch their breath they both stood up and began travelling down the corridor. They hurried along it, then turned down another corridor to their right. Finally they both stopped, dropping to the floor to catch their breath.  
  
"I can't believe it," Cid gasped, laughing slightly, "We escaped. We actually escaped from that chamber."  
  
"Yeah," agreed Red XIII, "But we're not out of the clear yet. I think we should perhaps leave here and make our way back to your house. We're both too tired to continue searching."  
  
"I think your right," Cid responded, slowly getting to his feet.  
  
Together they started to search for the way out. After about half an hour of just walking randomly down different corridors and stairways, Red XIII stopped.  
  
"Erm Cid, do actually know where we are going?" asked Red XIII.  
  
"No, I thought you knew the way out," Cid replied.  
  
"Don't look at me. I've been following you," Red XIII answered.  
  
"What? I was following you," Cid responded.  
  
Red XIII sighed, shaking his head from side to side. At this rate they could end up walking around in circles and never find their way out.  
  
"Well seeing as neither of us know where we are going, what do you suggest we do?" Cid asked. "What can we do? It's not like we can just walk up to the first person we meet and ask them the way out," Red XIII replied, feeling annoyed at the fact that he couldn't answer Cid's question.  
  
"Then that's what we'll do!" Cid exclaimed.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me. You honestly think someone will actually tell us the way out?" Red XIII responded.  
  
"Maybe. You never know unless you try," Cid answered, darting of down the corridor they were on to look for someone.  
  
"Give me a break," Red XIII muttered, "At this rate he's going to get us both killed."  
  
With that Red XIII bolted after Cid. He finally caught up with and found him talking to a janitor.  
  
"So could you tell us the way out, please? We were here on business and we got sort of lost," Cid told the janitor, in a convincing voice.  
  
The janitor looked at him for a while with a confused look, then finally answered him.  
  
"Er, sure. You go down this corridor and turn left at the bottom. Eventually you will come across a stairway to your right. Go down it and then turn left. Go down this new corridor and take the third right. Go along this corridor and take the second left. The doors that lead outside will be dead ahead of you," the janitor answered.  
  
Cid said thank you to him and then he and Red XIII headed down the rest of the corridor. As they turned left Red XIII decided to ask the question that had been bugging him, since the conversation with the janitor.  
  
"Ok, how did you get him to tell you the way out?" Red XIII asked, suspiciously.  
  
"It was simply. Seeing as he is only a janitor I figured he didn't know much about what was going on here, so I thought he would fall for my "we were here on business and got lost" act. It seemed it worked," Cid answered in a cocky way, proud with himself that his plan had worked.  
  
Red XIII just shook his head in disbelief, allowing himself a small smile. Together he and Cid continued to follow the janitor's instructions. They went down the stairway to their right, stopping briefly at the bottom to wait for some guards to pass, trying to keep themselves hidden as best they could. Then they turned left and walked cautiously down this corridor and took the third right. They then went down this corridor and took the second left and just like the janitor had said, a pair of doors were in front of them.  
  
They both took off, running as fast as they could towards the doors, even though they both felt tired from the sleeping gas. Upon reaching the doors Cid flung them open and he and Red XIII ran outside. Unfortunately it seemed that their luck had ended as they crashed into four unsuspecting guards who immediately turned around and aimed their weapons at Cid and Red XIII  
  
AN - It seems Cid and Red XIII have gotten themselves out of one mess and into another. Will they be able to fight of all four guards by themselves? Who knows.  
  
Cid: Well you should. You are after all the author.  
  
FF Fanatic: I know, but I would rather our readers don't know yet. They can find out once I have the next chapter up. Anyway, I hope you didn't mind the wait for this chapter. Please review. 


	15. Chapter 14: The Shadows

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any of its characters etc.  
  
AN - I'm back. I know I haven't updated this fanfic for a long time, but I have finally gotten round to putting up the next chapter. I have also gone back through all my old chapters, for this fic, and changed all the spelling mistakes that I had made in them. Now on with the fic.  
  
Chapter 14: The Shadows  
  
Cid and Red XIII smiled sheepishly at the four guards, who were glaring at them with their weapons at the ready. There was one main difference between these guards and all the others that Cid and Red had seen so far; these guards didn't where the same uniforms as the others, they were all wearing casual outfits. I wonder why that is, Cid thought.  
  
Out of the four guards three of them were women and the forth was a man. One of the women looked to be in her early thirties and seemed to be the oldest out of the four guards. She was wearing a light blue t-shirt with a picture of a thunderbolt on the front and a small gap on the right- hand side, so that you could see part of the women's skin on her right-hand side. She also wore dark blue pedal pushers and white trainers. She had silver hair that came just above her shoulders and dark green eyes. In her hand she was holding a very long and very sharp spear.  
  
The next woman looked to be in her mid twenties. She wore black, fingerless leather gloves along with a black, tight fitting t-shirt. She had black shorts on as well, with what looked like a small diamond on the bottom of the left leg. On her head she wore a black cap, facing backwards, and on her feet she wore black trainers with a white stripe along the sides of them. She had long, turquoise hair that came all the way down her back and her eyes were a deep blue. She wasn't carrying a weapon, but on her wrists she wore silver bracelets that were filled with offensive materia, like ultima, fire, ice and many others.  
  
The last woman also seemed to be in her mid twenties and like the other two women she also wore a t-shirt. Her t-shirt was dark violet with dark blue studs running along the bottom of it. She wore black trousers that had yellow stripes on the outer sides of both legs. Over the top of her t-shirt she wore a black, leather jacket. She was wearing a violet cap and violet trainers with turquoise laces. She had blonde hair that fell just below her shoulders and her eyes were a rich blue. In her hands she was holding a very vicious looking mace.  
  
The man, who was the last member of the four guards, looked to be in his late twenties. He wore brown, fingerless leather gloves, as well as brown ankle boots. Over his chest he was wearing a white shirt and he also wore black, tight fitting leather trousers, as well as a trench coat. He had short, brown hair and his eyes were a stormy grey. He was holding a long black and brown gun, which was the same length as his arm, in his hands.  
  
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the man asked as he prowled around Cid and Red in a very predatory way.  
  
"Er. we were here on business and were.er. just leaving now," Cid stammered.  
  
"What do you take us for? Fools?" the eldest woman demanded.  
  
Cid glanced at Red XIII with an apologetic look.  
  
"I guess it won't work twice," Cid stated, "Well it was worth a shot."  
  
"My name is Sabaron," the man said, now staring Cid straight in the eyes.  
  
"Er. I just have two questions that I would like to have answered before you decide to attack us," Red mentioned.  
  
"And what, might I ask, would those be?" Sabaron, who Red had figured was the leader of this small group, questioned.  
  
"Erm. firstly how come you aren't wearing uniforms like the other guards and secondly, seeing as you have introduced yourself, I was wondering if you could tell me what your friends are called?"  
  
"First I'll answer your second question. The woman over there with the spear in her hands is known as Tarria, the woman you see before you with turquoise hair is called Arenia and the last woman you see before you is called Resta. Oh and don't bother introducing yourselves, we already know who you are. There happy?" Sabaron said in a bored tone.  
  
"Yes, but you still need to answer my first question."  
  
"Fine. We don't dress in uniforms as we aren't part of this organisation. We are known as "The Shadows" as most people are rarely able to see us, even when we are around; we are extremely good at concealing ourselves in shadows so that we aren't seen, hence the name "The Shadows". Anyway we were hired by this organisation to capture a friend of yours and to do any other task the leader of this organisation may want us to do, sort of like mercenaries, we do what we are paid to do. Anyway now I have answered both your questions and now." he explained, aiming his gun, which he had been twirling around the whole time he had been answering Red's questions, at Cid and Red, "We fight."  
  
With that Cid, Red XIII and The Shadows clashed together in a furious battle. It was very clear from the start that The Shadows had the upper hand; there were more of them and they were fully refreshed whereas Cid and Red were still feeling rather tired from the sleeping gas.  
  
Cid was fighting against Tarria, both of them trying to hit the other with their spear, whilst Red XIII fought against Resta, but he was stuck on the defensive, constantly trying to dodge Resta's mace. Sabaron and Arenia stood in the background, Sabaron firing his gun at Cid and Red, and making sure he didn't accidentally hit one of his own team mates by mistake, and Arenia was casting Fire 3, Bolt 3 and Ice 3 spells.  
  
Cid defended another blow, from Tarria, with his own spear. It was becoming harder and harder to defend against her as he was tiring quickly; sooner or later Tarria would strike him, with what could be a fatal blow. Unfortunately there was nothing Cid could do but defend, he was also having a hard time dodging the bullets Sabaron was firing at him. Cid could only hope that Red was doing better.  
  
Red XIII, however, was doing slightly worse then Cid. He, like Cid, was being forced to stay on the defensive, but where as Cid was managing to dodge Sabaron's bullets, Red XIII was being hit by Arenia's magic, more times then he was able to dodge it. He managed to dodge Resta's mace once again, but a Bolt 3 spell hit him in his back. He collapsed to the floor, panting, watching as Resta raised her mace. He didn't think he had the strength to get up; this time it could all be over.  
  
AN - If you didn't realize it Sabaron was the person mentioned in the prologue for this story; the person who Vincent saw before he fell unconscious. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will hopefully have the next chapter up soon. 


	16. Chapter 15: Back Up

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any of its characters etc.  
  
However Sabaron, Tarria, Arenia, Resta and Dr. Evorne are my own original characters.  
  
AN – Sorry it has been so long since I last updated this fic. However I have finally gotten round to putting up the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.  
  
Chapter 15: Back up  
  
Red XIII closed his eyes, waiting for the pain that was sure to follow, as the mace was swung down. However there was no pain; Resta's mace hadn't made contact with his body, but why not? Red XIII opened his eyes and stared up at Resta. She was towering over him, but instead of her mace being in her hand it was lying on the floor a short distance away from where Red XIII was lying.  
  
Resta was clutching the lower half of her right arm, which had a rather nasty cut on it that was bleeding. She was glaring over at the door of the underground base. Red XIII glanced over at the door to see who had just saved his life. Standing in the doorway was Barrett, who was holding a folder in his hand, and Yuffie, who caught her Conformer as it came racing back into her hand.  
  
"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to pick on defenceless animals?" Yuffie asked, in a joking sort of tone.  
  
Red XIII frowned at the animal comment, but he was grateful, none the less, for her saving his life. Resta, on the other hand, looked absolutely furious.  
  
"You want to come over here and stop me?" she growled, as she quickly bent down and grabbed her mace.  
  
"Sure, but don't expect me to go easy on you."  
  
With that Yuffie did a flip through the air and landed directly between Resta and Red XIII, her Conformer at the ready. Red XIII quickly clambered to his feet.  
  
"Thanks Yuffie."  
  
Yuffie gave him a quick nod before setting herself in a battle stance. Red XIII gave one last look at Yuffie before racing over to battle Arenia; after all it had been her who had hit him with that Bolt 3 spell. Meanwhile Cid was still duelling against Tarria and Barrett was trading bullets with Sabaron.  
  
Cid was grateful for Yuffie's and Barrett's sudden appearance in the battle. Their appearance meant that he wouldn't have to worry about being hit by spells and bullets because Sabaron was being occupied by Barrett, and Arenia now had her hands full with Red XIII. Cid felt his lips pull into a smirk as a new wave of determination filled him. He started attacking Tarria with a new strength, finally forcing her to go on the defensive.  
  
Yuffie had the upper hand in her battle as she didn't have to get close to Resta to be able to strike her. Resta, however, had to try and get close to Yuffie if she wanted to be able to attack her. Once again Yuffie leapt out of Resta's reach, throwing her Conformer as she did so. Resta only just managed to dodge it. She let out a low growl; she was getting seriously annoyed with this spunky teenager.  
  
"Why don't you just stand still and fight like a man?"  
  
"One because I'm not a man, I'm a girl, and two because that would make it easier for you to hit me," Yuffie replied with a smile. With that Yuffie flung her Conformer again.  
  
Meanwhile Barrett and Sabaron were evenly matched. They were both managing to dodge the other's bullets and neither was able to get the upper hand. Barrett had a look of grim determination on his face, whereas Sabaron was openly smiling. Even though he was no closer to winning this battle than Barrett was, fighting was what he lived for and he could feel the excitement and adrenaline that accompanied every battle fill him. He was definitely enjoying himself.  
  
Red XIII slashed Arenia's hand as she raised it to cast another spell. She clutched her left hand to her chest, hissing slightly at the pain that accompanied the strike. Sweat slid down her face, not just because she was getting tired, but also because she was now getting rather nervous. Arenia wasn't that good at close fighting; her strength came from standing out of people's reach whilst she cast her spells. Red XIII had noticed this and was making sure he kept her on the defensive without leaving her any room to cast any spells. It was becoming clear that Red XIII would most likely win this battle.  
  
Suddenly Red XIII saw the opening he needed. Quick as a flash he latched his jaws onto Arenia's ankle, causing her to scream in pain and collapse to the floor. As soon as she was down, Red XIII released her ankle and raised a paw, with sharp claws, to her neck.  
  
"I suggest you stay down," he growled.  
  
Arenia's eyes were full of fear and she nodded slowly; knowing that if she did move the lion-like beast in front of her would strike.  
  
Yuffie was also besting her opponent. No matter how hard Resta tried she couldn't get close enough to attack Yuffie. This angered her greatly and because of her anger she was starting to get sloppy. She was now so focused on trying to hit Yuffie that she was no longer even attempting to dodge the Conformer. Because of this, Yuffie's Conformer was striking her more and more often. Resta had numerous cuts on her arms, chest and legs and it was obvious that Yuffie was going to win this battle.  
  
After fifteen more minutes, in which Resta continued to unsuccessfully attack Yuffie, Yuffie found the opening she needed to end the battle. She threw her Conformer at Resta's right arm, just as Resta raised her mace. The Conformer made contact with Resta's skin, causing her to once again drop her mace. With lightening speed Yuffie darted to the mace and grabbed it, leaving Resta completely un-armed . She then darted behind Resta and whacked the back of her neck with her hand, effectively knocking her unconscious.  
  
Not long after, Cid managed to disarm Tarria. As she had been about to strike him he had brought his spear up to hit her right wrist. Her right hand let go of her spear, in shock. Because she was now only holding her spear in her left hand she was unable to keep it balanced, so Cid grabbed it and with a quick kick to Tarria's stomach, forced her to let go of the spear completely. Once he had her spear he threw it far away, so that she wouldn't be able to reach it and pointed his own spear directly at her chest.  
  
Sabaron noticed that his team members were down.  
  
"This fights over," he stated calmly, lowering his gun to his side.  
  
Barrett didn't trust the man, so he kept his gun arm up; however he stopped firing bullets. Sabaron calmly holstered his gun and strolled over to Resta's unconscious form, his trench coat flapping at his feet. He bent down and hoisted Resta onto his shoulder then he turned to his other two team mates.  
  
"Tarria, Arenia, we're leaving come on."  
  
Very cautiously Cid and Red XIII stepped away from their team mates. Tarria walked slowly over to her spear and picked it up, whilst Arenia started to walk away. Tarria soon joined her, but Sabaron stayed behind to address the AVALANCHE members one last time.  
  
"I must admit you are better fighters than I thought you would be, but then again what else could I expect from the people who defeated Sephiroth. Until next we meet."  
  
With that he followed his team mates back inside the base. After they had gone inside silence filled the air. It was finally broken by Cid.  
  
"£%$, I think I need a cigarette," he said, pulling a cigarette out of it's packet and lighting it.  
  
"Care to tell us who they were?" Barrett asked, still looking over at the door through which The Shadows had gone.  
  
"I'll tell you on the way back to Cid's," Red XIII stated.  
  
Barrett made sure that nothing had fallen out of the folder he had been carrying and then together Cid, Yuffie, Red XIII and Barrett headed back to Rocket Town to wait for the others.  
  
AN – What do you think? I hoped you enjoyed it. I have only one more thing to say. REVIEW!!!!!!! 


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